Author: ptriller

Summertime Fun!!!

  By

Wow! It has been three years since we’ve been able to host a Summer Education Camp in the village of Šangaj. But last week….the kids were back…we were back…and the local community center was more than happy to have us use their facility. Over the course of four days the kids had a blast as they learned some valuable life lessons disguised as characters from… Continue reading

Spring Update

  By

Greetings from Serbia. Happy Spring!!!

What’s been happening?
The early part of the year is usually quiet for us. It is a time of planning and grant writing and preparing for the coming school year. It is also a time of rest and personal rejuvenation…usually. This year took a left turn in January… Continue reading

Thanks …in advance!!

  By

In 2016 we gave our hearts and lives to help Serbian Roma kids get an education. Not just to learn stuff, but to help them start their own cycles of generational success.

  • Having an education empowers them to overcome the inertia of generational ignorance and poverty.
  • Having an education frees them from the curse of living hand-me-down lives.
  • Having an education gives them the opportunity to determine their tomorrows.

Our hearts are still in this, as too are our lives, but we need some help.

Continue reading

Huge Appreciation Edition!!!

  By

 

 

 

 

Wow! It was 12 years ago this month we left home for the UK. On 15 July 2009 we stepped off a plane in Birmingham UK to start our 3-year long stint with Next Level International. Little did we know!

We could cover all the ups and downs of the past 12 years, but there is something much more important to celebrate Continue reading

Take a HIKE

  By

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, we proudly announce The H.I.K.E. 2021 is alive and well and on the calendar for September!!!!

Yippppppppppppeeeeeeee!!!!! We’re back!!! And we are ready!!!!

– The team is in training (I hope).
– The route has been mapped out. (The Great Glen Way, Scotland)
– Distance: 120 KM
– Dates:12-17 September 2021 (tentative)
– Loch Ness Monster sightings (possible)
This is the 4th Annual The H.I.K.E. event. Continue reading

Even in the Quietest Moment

  By ,

Without rehashing a litany of pandemic perils and plaints…this last year was interesting. But, despite lockdowns, curfews, travel restrictions, and limited social interaction, we still see great things happening.

It is like watching one of the nature films showing how life returns to a forest after a devastating  fire…little buds of plants and flowers start growing up through the quiet hush beneath the ashes. Life goes on….

Can we share some beautiful success stories with you? Continue reading

Double Vision

  By

What if….oh….what if there were a way to double the number of kids in Propel’s Sponsorship Program?

Wouldn’t that be great?!?! Having every kid who has signed up be fully sponsored and able to be kitted out for school! Wow!!!!

But…how?

How do we find 40+ more amazing people willing to make this dream a reality?

We had a few not-so-good ideas to achieve this goal: Continue reading

Happy Anniversary!!!!!

  By , , , ,

It all started as what had become a fairly routine morning in our lives- get up early, hop the train to Manchester Int’l Airport, and board a Lufthansa flight bound for Serbia.

How many times had we done this over the past few years…a dozen times or so? We knew the drill. Manchester to Frankfurt, or Munich, or Vienna, and then on to Belgrade. But this time was very, very different.
Continue reading

Summertime Blues

  By

It just isn’t a proper summer without Camp! 

For the past five years Propel has been hosting Education Camps for the kids in the villages where we serve. These Camps are the highlight of the kids’ summer break. How do we know? Easy. Starting in February the kids start asking….not IF there will be a Camp, but WHEN?

Usually, these Camps are put together in partnership with our supporting churches. They send a team to host the camp, and they help cover the expenses. But, with COVID-19…no teams this year! Does this mean no Camp? Continue reading